


What a Hunter's For

by dapatty



Series: What a Hunter's For [1]
Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon is more of a guideline, Everybody Lives, F/F, Podfic Welcome, Resurrection, Self-Indulgent, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 00:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20573270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dapatty/pseuds/dapatty
Summary: Jo was dead until she wasn't and she has work to do.





	What a Hunter's For

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this two years ago and then put it down because I thought I was being too self-indulgent about the whole thing. Friends, life is short. If no one else is gonna write an epic Jo/Laura fic of your dreams then you just have to do it yourself. 
> 
> Beta'd by the wonderful trojie who was right about commas. If it hadn't been for her and uglowian's cheerleading I may have never finished. Any remaining mistakes are my own. Title from LAST CALL by Seanan McGuire.

Jo Harvelle died bloody. The promise of spring in the air in Missouri, her mother clutching her hand as hellhounds closed in. She bled out before they could blow up the hardware store they'd barricaded. That’d probably been for the best. 

She woke up with a gasp two years later, like she'd been swimming under water too long--tingling limbs, spots in her eyes, acrid taste of fear on the back of her tongue. Hadn’t she been running? Surrounded by monsters in purgatory after Dean had trapped her in the circle of salt? She almost could have sworn that she’d been in Purgatory and Heaven before that. Impossible. She’d been very dead. 

Blinking back tears, she waited for the blur to focus on dust-coated stained glass windows. Let the sound of waves crashing against rocks and the sea-salt breeze wafting in through the breaks in the old church windows ground her. A man stood over her, brown hair haloed his face, looking sort of nondescript and bored with a side of impatient.

“Well, it’s about time you woke up,” he said, uncrossing his arms. Lightning flared and for a second Jo would swear in the flash she saw shadowed wings behind him.

“Who the hell are you?” she asked, or tried to. Throat painfully dry, she coughed and tried to swallow.

“Hell is the wrong neighborhood, darlin',” the man said, crooked smile in place, and reached for a bottle of water, tossing it to her. 

She fumbled the bottle and twisted off the cap with a click, grateful that it was sealed. Bad enough waking up from the dead without being drugged on top of it. 

“An angel then,” Jo croaked out and took another swig. The flash of wings hadn’t been a trick of the light. She’d seen weirder shit. “I met one once. Heard most of them were dicks.” 

“My brothers and sisters were never much for public relation,” the man confirmed. “It was nice pretending not to be like them for awhile.”

“You were the Trickster,” Jo figured. “Gabriel?”

“In the metaphorical flesh, sweetheart,” he grinned, tipping an imaginary hat. “I’m glad you’re still clever.”

“Why am I alive? Why did you bring me back? How long have I been gone?” Jo asked. The last thing she’d known, she’d been hanging out with Ash catching a Janis Joplin concert in Heaven, if she pretended that Purgatory stuff was a nightmare. Her mom expected them to swing by the Roadhouse later. Everything was so jumbled. She kept thinking about Laura. That Laura had been with her in Purgatory. Or maybe not. She rubbed at her forehead as if that would sort everything out. 

Being back was impossible, let alone hoping that she was properly back and not some sort of zombie. Everything felt too solid for her to be a ghost. It'd really suck if she was a flesh-eating reverent that only _thought_ she was Jo Harvelle. Besides, in her experience, no one brought anyone back from the dead without a reason. There’s always a cost. She didn’t know if she wanted to pay it.

“I opened a door for you because I like you and I’ve always kind of had a bit of a soft spot for blondes,” Gabriel mused, wry grin twisting his mouth. “Thought it was terrible writing on God’s part that you died. Real wasted potential. Not to mention that whole stint in Purgatory because of one of the old gods got their nose bent outta joint. Now that I have my feet back under me and everything has hit the fan as much as it can these days, I thought you deserved a second chance after y’all got so far on your own.”

“A second chance at living, right? I’m not a dead girl, am I?” Jo asked, taking another sip of water. 

“Not a zombie, if that’s your concern. You’re very much alive. I don’t do things by halves.” He smirked, proud glint in his eye.

She lifted an eyebrow and tried not to get her hopes up.

“I won’t bore you with specifics, but you’re a bonafide regular human girl. Not like I could take any kind of actual liberty, seeing as I’m not a writer of reality,” he explained, tone nonchalant, shrugging. “Pain in the ass to just to bring you back. Practically had to resort of some hedge magic bullshit on top of my divine reckoning, but what can you do when you don’t start out with any mortal remains and it’s been a couple years?” 

“Okay?” Jo didn’t know how she felt about that. “Good work?”

“You’re pretty much human. Mostly. In all the ways that count anyway. Everything will balance out and solidify the more you’re up and about. You’ll figure anything else out.” He waved a hand, dismissive. “And hey, everyone deserves a second chance. I even think you’ve learned your lesson about the clusterfuck approach to causes and stubbornness according to Winchesters,” Gabriel lifted an eyebrow and fixed her with a look.

“Yeah,” Jo agreed. She had believed in those two as far as their grim determination to get rid of whatever was in their way, but wasn’t keen on setting foot anywhere near them, especially since she got dead last time. She’d guess her being back would make them twitchy too. They’d never been good with gray areas. As far as she was concerned, they could be a fond and terrible memory. “Did they win?”

“Kind of,” Gabriel allowed. “They locked my dear brother back in his box, if that’s what you’re asking. Stopped that pesky end of the world business they started in the first place. No use of wondering anything else, if you know what’s good for you.” 

“Wow,” Jo said. She was only a little surprised and shuddered to think what that cost and what they broke in the process, the rest of the collateral damage. “Wait. I think I knew that. I remember being a ghost for a hot minute and almost killing Dean.” Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember, but those memories seemed to be mostly a feeling of white hot rage.

“Anyway, I have a job for you.” Gabriel brandished some files, seeming to pull them out of thin air, and set them beside her. “I want you to save a blonde and maybe her boyfriend too, if you get a chance. They’re part of a pack you used to run with before, but I can’t say they’ve fared very well since you left.”

“You want me to save a couple werewolves?” Jo asked, incredulous. 

“That I do. You might have to kill some hunters, but these guys are bad news. Gerard is a big jerk. I’d take him down a couple pegs, but he’s old and set in his ways. You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.” 

“And why the fuck should I believe you?” Jo asked, looking at him directly. “Why should I risk my newly alive neck for some apparently not heart-devouring werewolves? Will you just make me dead again if I don’t do this? What pack? I only knew two weres from back then, and they were safe in New York at last check.” 

For her denial, she’d almost had a family with Laura and Derek for a while. Laura had never officially asked her and Jo had walked away, walked out on both of them to go looking for demons in the end. Maybe if Jo hadn’t been so glaringly obvious with her feelings, Laura would’ve asked her to stay. But all that was years and afterlives ago. 

“Your life is wholly yours now, aside from the occasional inspired vengeance you sniff out because you’re good at it,” Gabriel hedged. “These first few days and who you get to believe in you will be tricky, but you do you.” He paused, face flashed with something akin to regret and said, “and you, out of anyone, know things can go from bad to worse in a flash.”

"What's that even mean?" Jo started to suspect that her bad feeling about all this would never go away. 

"Look," he said, hands out, placating. "I brought you back because I thought you deserved it. You are the one that wanted to save people by fighting monsters. So fight these monsters and save some people and then ride into the sunset. Help set some rights and get some revenge. Or skip ahead to the sunset, but I don’t think that’s your style, especially since this is personal. Just look into it,” Gabriel nudged the folders at her with his foot. 

He pulled a set of car keys from his pocket and set them on top. 

When he looked back at her, his face was pinched with something profoundly sad tucked in the corners. He looked a little ragged and lost.

“You look like someone who’s lost their home,” Jo said and he did, not that she was sure he’d even had one. Renegade angels probably didn’t tend to tread in Heaven. 

“Oh Jo, don’t you know you can never go home? Even if you want to. You can never go back to simpler times when you sat at your father’s knee and watched,” Gabriel said, touching her hair. “Make a new home, build a life. Maybe start a turf war with some hunters while you’re at it. Everything you need for what you want is in the glove box.”

“And what about you? What do you mean to do?” Jo asked and he smiled, brilliant and bright. 

“I mean to stir some shit and teach some lessons. Maybe find the key to Heaven and set up some new management. Or maybe just go to the beach, somewhere tropical. Either way, I aim to misbehave and have cocktails,” Gabriel grinned. 

“Have fun?” Jo said, thinking that it was probably a good sentiment.

“Always,” Gabriel affirmed. 

She shifted through some of the files, “Beacon Hills? Is this a joke? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Spoilers,” he smirked and with a snap of fingers he was gone. She finished her bottle of water and skimmed the files as the storm died down, her chest feeling tighter the more she read. Once she reached the end of her pile, she didn’t know how long she sat there trying to quiet the roar in her head as morning light filtered through stained glass warming the church. 

Laura Hale was dead. Had been for a year, and Jo felt like her insides were made of stone. Her cheeks were wet and she didn’t remember when she’d started to cry. Laura was dead and Derek had been brought in for questioning regarding her murder. She felt sick. No way had Derek killed her. He’d loved her. She remembered that much about being his friend.

She sighed out a shaky breath and wiped at her eyes with a sleeve. Damnit. She was already thinking of it as a case. Already thinking about how it would be better to be on a case. Because if she really let herself _think_ about being alive again, she might never make it off the floor. Couldn’t think about any of it. Because letting herself process how dead her mother--right. No. Just no. 

If she let herself be smart about this, she’d go in the opposite direction of this whole mess, find some nice, boring accountant type like her mother wanted and never think about monsters of any kind ever again. Because she could do that now. This was her second chance. She didn’t have to die for some stupid and heroic reason this time. She could count tomorrows.

She should not be wondering how far from Beacon Hills her current location was and tried to ignore the pull of needing to move. The urge got stronger the longer she sat there looking at all the files and trying to will it to be something that local law enforcement could handle.

“Shit,” she cursed, reading the last cougar sighting newspaper article for the third time and slamming the file shut. She stood on shaky legs and was surprised that she felt totally fine, almost as good as she had back in high school. 

Her wrist caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. A wendigo had scratched her forearm a few years back on a hunt with her mom, and the cut had been deep enough to leave a pretty wicked scar despite stitches, but it was so faded that it barely made a line. All of her scars were probably nearly erased too along with her anti-possession tattoo. 

She frowned at the thought. She’d earned all of those and she needed that tattoo. She’s practically a walking demon snack without even that basic protection. Unless demons weren’t a problem in Beacon Hills? Gah. Who was she kidding? The little details were going to drive her crazy over what she missed in the apparent three years she’s been dead.

Well, she’d just have to figure that all out as she went, and go get new scars. A good start would be heading towards where the pull in her gut wanted to go. She bent down and picked up the files and the keys. 

Blinking against the sun, she found that the church sat on the edge of a pretty treacherous cliff, all jagged rocks and crashing waves. Looking around, she noticed the front fender of a car around the corner of the building. When she rounded the church, she discovered a late model, gray Subaru. Possibly one of the Forresters. _Good ground clearance, sizeable storage space, AWD, and I’ll fit right in with all the flannel wearing girls_ Jo noted. _Handy._

Speaking of the storage, she popped the back open to take stock of what she had to work with and was surprised at the contents. Her breath caught in surprise because it really did look like this was all her old gear. Two duffels, one with clothes that looked familiar and the other contained all her weapons with the knife her father'd given her right on top. 

"Shit," she breathed and tentatively picked it up, unsheathing it. 

Yep, this was hers and that really freaked her out. Just by shifting a few things around, she could tell that not only were all her weapons and clothes here, but her bullets had been restocked. Gabriel had even taken the liberty of giving her a supply of wolfsbane bullets. He'd even left her a note labeling them. Her clothes smelled fresh and clean and not like they’d been left forgotten in a closet at Bobby’s for years. 

She secured the weaponry and walked around to the driver's side door. Climbing in she checked the glove box for a map and wasn't surprised to find one along with an envelope. Gabriel had even helpfully written YOU ARE HERE in a red sharpie and circled Beacon Hills, along with a highlighted route. 

"Fuckin' public spirited bird-brains," she sighed, rolling her eyes at the map as she opened the envelope. Inside she found a passport, bank records, and a couple credit cards with both her name and a couple aliases. Judging by the paperwork, she’d done very well for herself the past couple years despite being dead, but then again. All this paperwork made it look like she’d never been dead. Even made her look like a respectable person who’d done some sort of security contract work all across the country. Weird.

She didn’t know how she felt about having more financial security than she’d had in years and a job history she can find vague recollections of that she knew she hadn’t really done. _Think about it later._

The car started without fuss, even had a full tank. Putting it into gear, she drove away from the abandoned church and hopefully not to her doom.

*****

_Yeah, we couldn’t get to town when the sun was still up_, she thought wryly trying not to trip on another tree root. _We just gotta get into town after dark when shit’s going down._ This is some noobie shit and she used to be better than this.

The howling echoed through the trees and Jo sped up, going as fast as she dared in the underbrush while keeping quiet as she could and failing a little. She felt like she was getting closer and hoped she wasn’t honing in on her death or someone else's. 

She heard growling up ahead where the trees thinned out. Quietly, she eased up to the clearing to see a couple teenagers--a blonde girl and a tall black boy in the middle of a circle of five clawed and snarling people with red glowing eyes. Well, all of them except for one man wearing sunglasses at night. Leader of some sort probably. He had that air about him. Only assholes wore shades at night.

Yeah, these werewolves were actually totally different. Peachy. She’d forgotten.

Jo stepped out from the tree line and cleared her throat. All sets of glowing eyes turned and looked at her. The hair on the back of her neck felt like it was standing up. She kept getting snatches of half forgotten memories, violent and full of blood and screams, claws covered in blood. She pushed it aside and tried to focus. Now was not the time to have Purgatory flashbacks.

“How about you let the kids go,” Jo said, pointing the shotgun at the man wearing glasses who wasn’t snarling, “and I don’t shoot your leader.”

“Hunter,” the only woman of the group sneered. She wasn’t wearing boots and her toenails were long and pointed like her fingernails. _Lovely._

“Werewolf,” Jo said. “I can state the obvious as well as you darlin’.”

“These children are omegas,” the man wearing the glasses said, his lack of claws and ridged forehead unsettling compared to the others. She’d never had any kind of psychic anything, but her gut had her wanting to shoot and take her chances with the others. Almost like she could hear the sound of screaming that probably surrounded him, the cries of everyone he killed clinging to him just outside of her sightline. 

“It would be best if you let us deal with them.” He smiled. His smile was one of the creepiest things she’d ever seen and that counted all the demons.

“All the more reason for them to come with me,” Jo answered. This was going to get bloody so quickly. She should have driven in the opposite direction of this damn town. This martyr shit was for the birds and whatever her instincts were doing needed a learning curve that didn’t involve six werewolves to get used to again.

The wind shifted and Jo felt it pushing at her back. The leader sniffed and then froze, nostrils flaring like he smelled something impossible. All the red eyed wolves mirrored him. Great, she probably smelled like death. Or not human enough that she’s about to have problems. Probably some Divine touch lingered and it was about to get her extra dead. She almost wished she _was_ a revenant that would end up going on a rampage. That would have been something she could understand. This primal need to make them bleed. To make them pay? Well, she’d have much rather been a monster she knew something about than whatever she was trying to settle. 

Perfect. Maybe they’ll kill her and she canavoid finding out if she’s just as bad as them after her time in Purgatory.

“Not possible,” he muttered. 

“I ate impossible for breakfast. You’re going to have to be more specific,” Jo lifted an eyebrow. Might as well go out like a badass. The twins took a step back, closer to their leader. The two kids she’d come to rescue looked impressed and that was kind of terrible. Impressed was the first step toward hero worship and she knew how hero worship went. 

“Erica, Boyd,” the man addressed the blonde and the guy, “Do watch where you place your alliances. If you go back to a certain alpha, it will not go well for you.” He gave a nod at the others and they disappeared into the trees one by one. 

“I won’t be surprised by you next time,” the man told Jo and she swore that his eyes focused on hers. Maybe he wasn’t nearly as blind as she thought. The woman stopped beside him and he placed his hand on her shoulder, then they followed the others. Jo waited until she could no longer pick out movement in the trees to lower her gun. 

“Well that wasn’t ominous or anything,” Jo muttered, sighing. She looked at Erica and Boyd. “So, are you coming or not?” 

“Who the hell are you?” Erica asked. Boyd studied her, head tilted. 

“The name’s Jo Harvelle. I’m the Patron Saint of Runaways,” she said sarcastically, but it almost felt true. Fuck, she’s come back as a myth instead of actually human. Like she woke up in a Neil Gaiman novel. She suppressed another sigh. “So either come on and finish running away or let me drop y’all off at home. Ride’s free either way.”

Jo turned and started stalking back through the trees toward her car. She smiled when she heard them rushing to catch up. 

“We don’t want to go home,” Erica said, falling into step beside Jo with Boyd at her other side. 

“That right?” Jo asked Erica, but she looked at Boyd. 

“For now,” Boyd answered and Erica blew out an exasperated breath. 

“I really should swing by the local police station and drop you both off. Your folks are probably worried to death,” Jo allowed.

“No police,” Erica said.

“Because of the whole werewolf thing or is there also a police problem I don’t remember from last time I was here?” Jo asked, and Erica just shook her head.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Once they'd reached her car, neither of them had made further argument. 

She popped the trunk and unloaded the gun, securing both it and the bullets. She gave a look at the first aid kit and wondered if they'd need it. Aside from what she'd gleaned from the files, she's wasn't all that sure about how werewolves worked. She’d seen Laura heal from wounds at ridiculous speeds, but maybe that was an alpha thing. She’d never asked. 

“Either of you need to call your parents or Alpha or some other grownup that isn’t me?" She asked as they walked around to the passenger side. 

“No ma'am,” Boyd answered and Erica shook her head. Now that she could see them under the trail parking lot lights, they looked like they’d had a rough night even before being surrounded. 

“We don’t want to go to the station. We’re fine,” Erica insisted.

“Call me Jo,” she said unlocking the driver’s side door and ignoring that protest. Werewolf or not, she wasn’t transporting missing kids across county lines. “Ma’am was my mother and I ain’t her. You both alright? I’ve got a medkit in the trunk.” 

“We’ll be fine. We heal fast,” Erica answered, frowning. 

“Sure,” Jo said and didn’t ask who hurt them. She’d ask later. They may have trusted her to walk back to her car, but that’s probably because she’d unsettled the alphas. She’s surprised they haven’t run off already even though they looked like they very much wanted to. She’ll just have to wait and see. Work on getting them to come around to the idea of leaving them with people they trusted here in town.

She unlocked her door and climbed in, reaching over to unlock the passenger side and the back seat. Erica and Boyd surprised her by climbing into the car.

"So, who wants pancakes? I don't know about you, but I could go for some food. It's like I haven't eaten in two years." Jo asked. 

"How have you not eaten in two years? You're not even lying," Erica said. 

"Mostly," Boyd corrected. 

"Well, I wasn't counting the fruit I've eaten today. Oranges are in season, but they are not bacon," Jo allowed, driving carefully out of the woods. "Besides, it's hard to eat anything when you've been dead."

"Did we seriously get in a car with a newly resurrected hunter instead of just letting those Alphas kill us?" Boyd muttered. 

"In my defense, the offer to drive you home or to a relatively safe location still stands and remains completely above board and not a lie," Jo clarified, stopping before pulling onto the highway. "So does breakfast. I promise that I'm not out to kill either of you or your pack."

She met their eyes, Erica’s first by turning her head, then Boyd’s in the rearview mirror. Boyd gave the slightest nod. 

"So, how do you feel about that diner right near the county line?" Jo asked.

"They have the best pancakes," Erica answered. 

******

The car ride was pretty uneventful. Erica and Boyd looked bone tired, showing the weariness of too long without rest, but with this stubborn layer of stoic pretending to be fine. Under the diner lights, she didn't see any blood stains. Of course their clothes were dark and could be hiding it. 

She really wanted them to be somewhere safe that preferably wasn't with her. She didn't know when she'd be dragged back into the thick of whatever Sam and Dean were involved in. Or when she'd get a visit from another of the heavenly hosts. These kids wouldn't be safe with her. That wasn’t even considering if she was going to get more involved with what was going on in this town, no matter how much she felt compelled to seek the Alphas out and make them sorry for things she didn’t even understand yet.

“Don’t pray to anyone,” Jo warned, dropping down into the bench seat, facing the door. “Ain’t no God anymore as far as I know and you’re just liable for an angel to show up, and I don’t know what their game is right now. Only a couple of them that I trust and that’s only as far as I can throw them.”

“What kind of advice is that?” Erica asked with a sneer, plopping down and scooting over to leave room for the boy. Boyd regarded Jo quietly as he slid onto the seat. She doubted his silence would keep.

“The voice of experience,” Jo shrugged. “Seriously, I don’t have anything to fight an angel unless I can steal one of their weapons, and I’m not sure I can kill one with it being as how I’m not an angel.”

“You aren’t lying,” Boyd observed. 

“I don’t make a habit of lying if I can help it,” Jo said, giving another look out onto the parking lot and around the diner. The place was nearly deserted except for a couple truck drivers at the bar, the most bored looking waitress Jo had ever seen, and the fry cook in the back.

The waitress came by, snapping her gum, and took their orders. Erica waited until the waitress was out of earshot to ask, “But what do you mean you were dead?” 

“That I died two years ago trying to help stop archangels and demons. But that’s how being a hunter usually works. Whatever you go looking for kills you back,” Jo answered with a shrug. 

“That’s why those alphas backed off? They must have smelled something on you,” Erica frowned. “Because you don’t smell death or like you’ve been dead. You don’t even smell like earth.”

“What do I smell like?” Jo asked, trying to control her heartbeat and failing. 

“Human and a little something else? I dunno. I’m still new at this,” Erica shrugged and looked at Boyd. 

"Maybe a little like ozone, something copper, something old maybe," Boyd offered. 

“Is that why you’ve run away? Because you’re new?” Jo asked, shelving all that smell talk and not thinking about what a resurrection actually smelled like to different werewolves. 

“Kind of. Things have been bad for a while and we just needed to get away. We didn’t feel safe,” Erica frowned and then gave Jo a look. “Not that I feel that much safer with a hunter, but you’ve not tried to hurt us and been honest so far.”

“Safe can be hard to come by,” Jo agreed. “Mind if I ask who the hunters you had a run-in with? Name wouldn’t be Gerard Argent, would it?” 

“How did you know that?” Boyd asked, something dangerous in his tone. 

“The person that brought me back talked my ear off and left me some light reading,” Jo explained. “Besides, I’d heard Argents hunted werewolves. I probably even met some back when mom still ran the Roadhouse. Hunters gossip, or they used to. I plan to avoid the whole bunch for the conceivable future. My mom would be so proud if she were alive to hear me say that. Or laugh her ass off. Maybe both.”

“Your mom’s dead?” Erica asked.

“Died the same day as me," Jo took a sip of her coffee. "It was my fault she was even hunting. She never wanted me to start and caught up with me to try to keep me from getting myself killed like my dad. Didn’t work, but it wasn’t entirely either of our faults. Heaven and Hell aren’t like ghosts and other monsters. Part of me wishes she’d forced me back to college or never followed me. She wasn’t real good at giving me space.”

“Parents never want you to do anything worthwhile,” Erica said, sighing. 

“Parents worry. That’s what they do. They’re gonna worry no matter what,” Jo said, biting her lip. She was failing here. She wasn’t making her point. Sure she had the perspective that comes with realizing that your folks are just trying their best. That grownups don’t have any idea of what the fuck they're doing either, but they will always try to protect their kids from the world and from the mistakes they made when they were young. 

"How old are you?" Boyd asked.

Jo lifted an eyebrow. "Twenty-five, I think, if it's any of your business. Or maybe 27 if I’m counting those two years."

Boyd smiled a little at that just as the food arrived. 

“All my parents have done is worry,” Erica says, frowning and pouring a liberal amount of syrup on her pancakes. “I was sick growing up. Epilepsy.” She sneered at the word then sighed. “I was a lot of trouble for them. Always wanting to do things all the normal kids did and trying things even if I wasn’t supposed to. With all this werewolf stuff now, I just know they’re tired of dealing with me and I can’t please them. I think we need a break from each other.”

“You know what I’m gonna say,” Jo lifted an eyebrow at her, spreading butter on her pancakes. 

“Look, I love them. I do. And with the alphas being in town and how they don’t know about me and that whole werewolf _thing_. I just can’t be there right now,” Erica said, eyes pleading. 

Jo frowned. “Are you sure we can't call someone? Anyone? I just got back from the dead. I can’t be getting charged with kidnapping when I’ve only been back for a day. I’m fairly certain that would not make me a good contributor to society.” 

“Let us finish breakfast first?" Boyd asked, biting down on a piece of bacon. 

“What the hell has got you running so scared that you’d hang out with a hunter?” Jo asked, crossing her arms. “Don’t you have an Alpha of your own?”

“You said yourself that you were kind of over the whole hunting thing and we won’t be in the way. Just give us a little bit of time until we're sure that we can call Derek,” Erica hedged. 

“I’ll give you until the plates are clear and we've all had at least one refill of coffee," Jo offered. "In the meantime, you can maybe answer some questions I have."

"If we answer your questions you're just going to end up involved," Boyd considered. 

"Involvement might just get you killed again." Erica observed, taking a large bite.

“Probably,”Jo allowed. “If there’s something that needs to be taken care of, I’ll feel like I should try. It’s a habit.”

“But,” Erica protested and Jo stopped her with a hand on her arm. Erica’s arm was stiff under the touch, the touch that Jo broadcasted so Erica could see that she was going to. What the hell had happened to these kids that a hand lightly resting on an arm looked to border on a bad touch? Jo let go and met Erica’s eyes.

“When you start running,” Jo said, “you can never stop. You'll always look over your shoulder and never be able to rest. And usually, whatever you’re running from, just catches up. You’re young and what? 16-17? You’ve both got college or something. Whatever you want. Just don’t give up on that because you’re scared.”

“Why? Did you do all that? Go to college and have a life?” Erica scoffed.

“No,” Jo admitted. “I was too scared of college and dropped out. Thought I could handle ghosts easier. I may have to admit to being a touch wrong about that. So just consider that you have options. I’ll call old friends if I have to.”

“Okay,” Erica nodded and some of the tension in her seemed to be eased. Jo would work on that or cause bodily harm to whoever had made Erica feel this way. 

Damnit. She was already thinking about them like she'd taken them in. Like a couple of strays. She could practically hear her mother cackling all the way from heaven. 

Boyd nudged Erica’s arm and they shared a look that ended in her nod.

“Okay,” Boyd said then looked over to Jo. “Do you have any change? We need to use the payphone to call Derek.”

“Hale?” Jo asked. _Derek_ was these kids’ alpha? No wonder they were running away. Derek hadn’t been raised for it as far as Jo could tell. He’d been great at going along with things from what she remembered. And after the fire. Well, needless to say, he’d been quieter but no inclination other than trying to make Laura happy even though he’d been so sad. 

“Why? Do you know him?” Erica asked, frowning hard, worry around the corners of her eyes.

“He used to be a friend, a long time ago,” Jo said, wry and a little sad. “Here, use my cell. A few things are starting to make a terrible kind of sense.”

Boyd nodded and picked up the phone she pushed across the table and stood to go make the call outside. He’d probably erase the call history when he was done. She wouldn’t blame him. She’s a hunter. Derek would still have her number if she didn’t lose this burner. 

“You smell sad,” Erica said.

“Now you’re just being nosey,” Jo said. 

“I have to be,” Erica crossed her arms and leaned back. “Just because you’ve not tried to kill me and Boyd yet doesn’t mean you aren’t waiting to try when Derek gets here.”

“If I’d wanted to hurt you, I’ve had plenty of opportunity,” Jo dismissed. “And I should probably go. I didn’t leave things on the best of terms with Derek.”

“Yeah, he’s got a thing for trusting blonde hunters he shouldn’t,” Erica grumbled.

“Hey, no. We were friends,” Jo said. “I was in love with his sister. He’s been the only best friend I’ve ever had and that’s not saying much.”

“If you weren’t with him then, why wouldn’t he want to see you?” Erica frowned again.

“The Devil was out of his cage, possessions had started being far too common, and I believed I should help put Lucifer back and a guy from my past asked me to help.” Jo sighed. 

“Wait, you mean the actual devil?” Erica asked, eyes wide. 

“Yeah, the actual one. Creepy fuck. Just as egotistical as you’d think,” Jo shrugged. “Anyway, I’d been using their apartment in New York as kind of a home base. After the third exorcism in a week--the last on a kid no more than seven years old--I felt like I had to go. Help find a way to put a stop to all of it. Derek actually yelled at me and it’d been forever since that’d happened.”

“Derek yelling at you is nothing,” Erica rolled her eyes. “He does it all the time.”

“Probably because he cares and is scared shitless,” Jo said. 

“Sure he cares,” Erica scoffed. “He told us to go.”

“Look, I’m just guessing, but I figure he told you to go because of this pack of alphas and because he’s a total idiot when it comes to expressing his emotions in any kind of healthy way,” Jo said and mentally kicked herself. 

“Oh and you’re gonna be so emotionally mature that you’re not even gonna speak to him? Nice,” Erica muttered, glancing back to where Boyd walked back inside and toward their booth.

“Pretty much because I’m shit scared and I recognize that it’s not the best way to deal with it but I’ve had a really long day back from the dead,” Jo said, throwing enough cash down for their food and a big tip. “So, I’m gonna go bunk down and have a long bath that doesn’t involve feelings. I’ll hang out long enough to make sure he picks you up.” She gestured to her car and gave them a wave while she walked out after Boyd handed her phone over. 

She made it to her car just in time for a black Camaro, _Laura’s_, to slide into the parking lot across from her. Derek gingerly got out, more stubbled than she’d ever seen him and looking exhausted. He shoulders sagged a little in relief when he saw Erica and Boyd through the glass then grew taut as he turned his head to the side like he was trying to catch a scent. 

Jo held her breath, willed her heart not to beat. She didn’t have it in her for an emotional reunion and as much as she needed that bath, she needed to find Gerard Argent. Doesn’t matter who you think you are, you don’t get to torture innocent teenagers. He needed to be reminded of that. 

Derek turned back and rush into the diner.

Rubbing at the grit in her eyes, she fought back a yawn, and then thought maybe some sleep was needed after all.

*****

When Jo had been at her peak Teenage Rebellious Phase at the ripe old age of 15, she spent a summer in California, after the third time tryingto sneak into Bobby’s truck to go on her own hunts. Her mom threw her into the car and drove her across four states from Nebraska to California for Jo to spend three months with her mother’s youngest sister.

Aunt Magdeline “Maddy” Mason took even less shit than Ellen, but gave Jo more freedom than she’d ever had for a whole summer--a summer where’d she’d met a brooding bunny-toothed kid and fell in instant lust with his older sister. Maddy even gave Jo her first tattoo before she went to college-- anti-possession and beautiful and so very gone now. 

Standing on Aunt Maddy’s porch, she hesitated to knock. In part, she could admit, to simply being too chickenshit even with the late hour, because Maddy would remind her of home, but in a way, her fear went deeper. If she wasn’t human enough to enter Maddy’s house anymore, she didn’t have enough energy to find out. And if that was the case, if she was more of a monster than she’d been with everything she’s killed in her past, she didn’t want Maddy to know that some version of Jo was alive. Better to leave dead things dead. 

She turned and started to walk back to her car, but stopped when the door opened. 

“So, back from the dead and you don’t even have the balls to knock?” Maddy’s husky voice asked, years of cigars and whiskey deepening the tone. “Ellen’s rolling in her metaphorical grave.”

Fighting down the urge to run, Jo forced herself to turn and stepped back onto the porch and said, “Well, you know I was always good at disappointing Mom.”

“But you never did though,” Maddy said, smiling, but with something downturned a little in the corners. Maybe some of that was age. The streaks of grey in her brown hair had been dyed with blue and the corners of her crows feet were deeper, but she still looked solid and beautiful. Her arms both had full sleeves of art where they’d been half before, swirls of art that she hoped she’d get to see in the light. 

“Sure I did,” Jo said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Nah, you pissed her off something fierce, but never disappointed,” Maddy said, kindly.

Jo just nodded, fighting a lump in her throat. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn’t. She’d have to worry with it when shit wasn’t hitting the fan so spectacularly. 

“Well, you gonna try to come inside or are you gonna tuck and run?” Maddy opened the door wide and took a step back. “You’re no good for whatever shitshow werewolf bullshit is going on if you don’t sleep.”

“What? We’re going for reckless honesty now? You didn’t even say the word werewolf last time. Just lots of sleight of hand and hinting at it with all the delicacy of a bull in a china shop,” Jo grumbled.

“Yeah, I should have spoken plainer before,” Maddy agreed. “And with that in mind, step into my house before some demon smells that touch of Divine grace lingering, I have no quarrel with you or any matters of Heaven or Hell and I don’t plan to start now. Besides, packing around Laura Hale’s soul can’t be helping at all.”

“Oh fuck,” Jo’s nearly gasped. “When mom called you a witch, she was being literal. Wait. Laura’s soul?”

“Why do you think my protection and anti-possession tattoos work so well?” She scoffed, looking amused, moving as Jo shouldered her bag and stepped into the house. “And you picked up a passenger from wherever you were. Seeing as it’s Laura, I’d guess Purgatory, but we can get into specifics in the morning. It’ll keep.”

“See, I’d always thought it was your keen eye and understanding of advanced math that kept the protections working so good.” Jo half joked, letting go most of the tension in her shoulders when once she passed the threshold and hadn’t immediately been trapped, expelled, or incinerated. She didn’t know if she truly believed she was hauling around Laura’s soul yet though. Somehow that was a step too far toward miraculous and she’d started her day with an angel.

“They help a lot,” Maddy smirked and wrapped her arms tightly around Jo. Jo hugged back after a few shocked seconds and tried not to cry with the feeling of overwhelming relief, tucking her nose into the crook of her aunt’s neck breathing in the scent of lavender. “I know we both have a lot of questions, but they’ll keep ‘til morning. You look dead on your feet in more ways than one.”

“Thanks,” Jo said and meant for so much more than the hug. 

“Yeah, kid,” Maddy gave her one last squeeze as Jo pulled away. “Now, you remember where your room is. Clean towels are in the hall closet. You smell like old church.”

Jo choked out a laugh. “Sure. See you in the morning.”

“But not too early,” Maddy warned. “I’m old and need my beauty sleep and if I hear you down in the kitchen clanking about in some misguided attempt at breakfast, we’ll have words.”

“Of course,” Jo agreed, hoping she could and knowing that she’d be the one to cook in the morning anyway. It’d be nice to fall back into their old routine, if just for a morning.

****

“So how do you even know that I’m hauling around Laura Hale’s soul when I don’t feel anything like that?” Jo asked, adding bacon beside the eggs and handing Maddy a plate. “Is this a witch thing?”

“It’s mostly a witch thing,” Maddy said, picking up her fork, “but your eyes flashing Alpha red last night on the porch was a good clue.”

“Shit Aunt Maddy,” Jo hissed. How many times had her eyes flashed like that? They probably had with the Alphas. She really did not need to make enemies who thought she was a lot stronger than she actually was because they’d just hit that much harder. “How could this have happened?”

“We’re gonna fix it,” Maddy dismissed waving her fork. “Wherever that angel pulled you from, you ended up with a tag-along. If I know you, that was absolutely a willing deal on both sides.”

“Purgatory,” Jo said, eyes focused on her food. If she looked at Maddy, she was afraid that she’d remember everything about her time there. Just poking at the edges of her memory promised that she was in for nightmares for years. She wasn’t keen on starting that yet. 

“Shit Josephine Beth,” Maddy said, voice caught between amazement and pity.

“Yeah, turns out that’s what happens when Osiris brings you back as a ghost and you get destroyed as one. I guess I wasn’t peaceful enough for Heaven after that,” Jo said, anger like ash in the back of her throat.”

“You need to stay far away from those Winchester boys. They kick up too much of a fuss, they’ve got big players paying too much attention to them,” Maddy said, reaching out to give Jo’s wrist a squeeze. 

“Yeah, no kidding,” Jo huffed a laugh. “That’s why I was going to go poke the Argents with a stick.”

“Of course you are,” Maddy rolled her eyes giving one last squeeze and starting on the rest of her breakfast. “Anyway, you probably found one of the doors out of Purgatory. Only a human can leave through exits and you’re the soft-hearted kind of girl to willingly take a tag-along back out.”

“But wouldn’t we have separated once we were out and crossed back over?” Jo asked, moving the eggs around on her plate instead of eating them.

“Normally, that’s how that would work, but you’d been dead. Didn’t even have bones on this side to come back too. Whatever Divine intervention you had saved you from being a ghost again, but I figure that bird-brain didn’t have a lot of experience separating souls.” Maddy said, standing up and reaching for Jo’s plate.

“And you do?” Jo asked, incredulous.

“More than you’d think,” Maddy said and didn’t elaborate as she washed the dishes. “Will you go roll up the rug in the parlour while I finish in here? I imagine Laura is going to want to stop Derek from whatever stupid he’s gotten himself into now.”

“From what I’ve gathered so far, Derek will need all the help he can get,” Jo said, standing and making her way to the back sitting room. 

It turned out that pulling Laura’s soul of of Jo didn’t take much more than a candle and Jo spilling a little bit of her own blood while the world went briefly fuzzy only to blink wide to find Laura sitting across from her wearing a dirty sweater and ripped jeans caked in mud. 

Laura launched herself at Jo pulling her into an almost painfully tight hug, and Jo felt like it was the first time she could take a deep breath since waking up in that church yesterday.

“Jo, we made it, we’re out, you did it, God you smell good,” Laura said, a near nonsense litany as she held on laughing and crying.

“Laura, you’re okay, we made it, you’re alright,” Jo promised, holding on just as hard, tears wet on her cheeks. Laura had been the only bright spot while she was in Purgatory. Jo had been in that endless twilight full of monsters long enough to stop counting the nights-long enough to give up-until Laura found her. Jo tried to breathe, squeezing her eyes shut against the memories.

After they’d managed to stop frantically reassure each other and pull back, Maddy started laughing.

“What?” Jo asked, frowning.

“She’s not changed at all,” Laura said, grinning.

“Of course you’d go and fall madly in love with a girl in a place where humans ain’t even supposed to end up,” Maddy wheezed. “I’m impressed.”

“Aunt Maddy, please,” Jo huffed, resting her forehead against Laura’s as Laura’s hand gave the back of her neck a squeeze.

“Yeah, Maddy, we’ve been in love since at least when Jo dropped out of college, at least,” Laura said, smile impossibly fond.

“At least,” Jo agreed. But probably the first time Jo ever saw her all those summers ago the first time she heard Laura laugh.

“Okay, Laura, you’re a mess,” Maddy said standing up and reaching down for both of them. “I’ve probably got something you can wear, so just throw those in the trash after you’ve showered if you trust me. You can burn them in the fireplace if you don’t. Jo will go make you something to eat while you shower.”

“Oh my God, I’ve really missed showers,” Laura moaned taking Maddy’s offered hand and dragging Jo up with her. 

“My shower last night was pretty transcendent,” Jo said. “Eggs okay, or do you want me to figure something else out?”

“Anything would be better than the nothing I’ve had,” Laura said and then so hopeful, “but if you made me a grilled cheese with any bacon you have left over that would be amazing.”

“Done.” Jo gave Laura’s hand one last squeeze. 

“And then we’re gonna see exactly how much trouble my brother has gotten in and how much is Peter’s fault,” Laura said, a hard determined line to her jaw and something a little haunted in the corner of her eyes. 

_Ah._Jo thought. _That’s how she died._

Jo watched Laura walk down the hall and shut the bathroom door and added Peter Hale to her Things to Address list. 

They decided that Laura should stay in the car for a few minutes while Jo had a moment. 

She squinted at Derek on the porch. The house looked like it would give way any moment, that a gust of wind would flatten it. She’s a little impressed at how much was still standing. He looked like a ghost in the afternoon sun, practically hiding in the shadows near the front door even with the defiant tilt of his chin, but something defeated in the slope of his shoulders.

“I don’t know if I should thank you for bringing them back,” Derek admitted, after a few minutes of staring.

“Trust me, I still ain’t in the business of thank you,” Jo said and sighed, raking her hair back then crossing her arms in front of her chest. Everything about this was still a terrible idea, but Laura said that he needed to be eased into it. Jo thought that might be code for, “I need at least five more minutes to freak out before I see him, and you both need to hug and apologize.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have. It’s dangerous,” he said, frown on his face, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“No shit,” Jo said, rolling her eyes. “Running into the Alpha pack my first night back totally wasn’t a clue or anything.” 

“Are we really doing this?” he asked, sounding so tired. Her heart broke a little. 

“What? Trading verbal jabs? You being wrong about what to do about danger that I’m involving myself in?”

“Jo, you died,” he said, finally stepping into the sunlight, mouth downturned, fists clenched, pale at the knuckles.

“Of course I died,” Jo said, squeezing her arms tighter. “It was Heaven and Hell bullshit. Of course it killed me. And of course you’re mad at me for it. You should be. It was a fucking stupid way to go and no matter the reason for it. Not that something else wouldn’t have killed me. But after those kids. That little girl? I couldn’t live with myself if I thought there’d been anything I could have done. But now? Fuck, I just don’t know. Maybe Laura...”

“No, I should’ve come back with her and I didn’t. If anyone’s to blame for all of this it’s me.” Derek said, shoulders tight, stomping over to stand in front of her.

“Are you serious right now? That’s bullshit.” Jo said keeping her volume down. Screaming wouldn’t accomplish anything. Derek took a step back like she’d hit him. “You _know_ that’s bullshit. _”If I couldn’t save Laura.”_ I hate that much more that I couldn’t kill Kate Argent and salt and burn everything she had to keep her from coming back.”

“Of course you figured it out,” he grumbled, shoulders drooping, face lined with exhaustion liked she’d seen from him in New York. 

“Look, this is stupid,” Jo scrubbed a hand over her face and opened her arms. “We should probably at least hug, especially if we’re both going to agonize over shit we can’t change.”

“You are still such an asshole,” Derek said jumping off the porch, but wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders as she squeezed his middle. 

“Yeah, well, take more than being dead for me to mellow out,” Jo agreed. He huffed what might’ve been a laugh. 

“You smell like your aunt and like Laura,” he observed, pulling away after a few minutes and wiping at his face with his sleeve. 

“Yeah, well only so many people will put me up and help me separate a tag-along after I’ve escaped Purgatory” Jo said. “And dude, if I didn’t know you were a werewolf, that statement would have been a little creepy.”

Derek rolled his eyes, then frowned. “The Alphas knew and backed off. They won’t do that again.”

“Yeah,” Jo sighed. “They said as much.”

“You shouldn’t have brought Erica and Boyd back. They’re not safe with me.”

“Oh, but they would have been safe with some resurrected hunter who doesn’t even know how being alive again is gonna work yet?” Jo rolled her eyes. “Not to mention the whole kidnapping aspect of the situation and the whole letting them run away or asking anyone for help thing?”

“No one’s coming to help,” he said, voice a growl with anger seeping in.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said, gently kicking his shins until he looked back at her. “I’m here. Maybe Sumi would take them in. Or someone else. Someone from before. Maddy might know somewhere. Just giving up and sending your pack off isn’t the way to help them or you.” Jo pointed out, giving him the side-eye. “You’re their packmate and the one of the folks who brought them into this. Maybe you should have thought about that before. But what do I know about whatever instincts you’ve been having. You didn’t have any prep at all for this.”

“Yeah, well,” Derek’s frown deepened. “Besides, they seem to like you a lot more right now than they like me.”

“Maybe a little,” Jo allowed. “But they still like you. It looks like you saved them in a way. Sure, your timing was shit, but from what I can tell it’s been a straight up dumpster fire since you got back to town.

“Understatement,” Derek muttered. 

Jo snorted and carried on. “Look, if you give it a chance, they’ll make home with you. You took time to notice them first. Maybe you throw them into trees and shit more often than necessary, because I’m pretty sure about how you’ve approached things,” she squeezed his shoulder, “but you took the time to see them and that’s gone a long way. So protect them. Fight for them. Don’t give up before you’ve started.”

“That’s a pep talk I didn’t expect,” Derek said, looking like he wanted to glare or roll his eyes or just sit down on the stoop.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been dead, turning over a new ‘pep talk’ leaf or something.” Jo gave him a playful shove. “Now, I know it’s probably a novel idea to you--what with how long you’ve been on your own--but you can call for help, because I’m sticking around. And if you don’t call, I’ll just come poking around anyway. Besides, I don’t like that Gerard’s body is unaccounted for. The trail from the warehouse literally disappeared, so someone picked him or at least his body up.”

“Oh god, are you gonna start some sort of turf war with the Argents?” Derek sighed, frowning.

“Maybe. Well, depends,” Jo shrugged. “I’ve got time and an Archangel told me I could start a turf war.”

“Of course they did,” Derek shook his head. “Well, I guess I’ll.” He gestured vaguely back at the house.

“Brood in solitude?” Jo lifted an eyebrow. 

“No?” Derek winced, like he’d meant to make a statement and hadn’t wanted to sound unsure.

“Yeah, no. If I learned anything from that summer all those years ago it’s that leaving you to brood is a terrible idea,” she said, linking an arm around his elbow and tugging him along toward her car. “Let me at least take you home, unless you’re squatting in some abandoned train station.”

Derek froze and Jo nearly tripped as she halted her forward momentum and couldn’t help the shocked face she made when she caught the slightly guilty face he had. 

“Derek Hale, you did not!” Jo fought a laugh. Her best friend, everyone. A ridiculous mess. 

He sighed. 

“Was it that whole wanted for murder thing, because I’d like to have a few words with a Sheriff’s Department if that’s still a problem,” Jo said, giving him another tug to get him moving again.

“You don’t have to big-sister me,” Derek frowned. 

“I’m not. I’m just here to be on your side and to get you to pull your head out of your ass. It’s like you’ve only been hanging out with teenagers,” she paused when she felt his forearm stiffen.

“Don’t say it.” Derek grumbled.

“I’m not saying anything, I’m not even judging, I’m just more than a little amazed that you’ve managed to make it this far. We’re going to Maddy’s so she can be amazed too and then chide you while we all come up with a plan that doesn’t involve throwing untrained teenagers at it and hoping not all of you die.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said, reaching down briefly to squeeze her hand. 

“Yeah. It is gonna be okay,” Jo said, squeezing back and then gently pushing him down the driveway, smiling as she said, “And I’m going to get to punch so many people.”

Derek’s incredulous laughter was easy to join.

“Wait,” Derek said, stopping halfway down the driveway. Her car was just around the bend. She’d left the windows down. He had to be catching Laura’s scent.

“What?”

“What did you mean when you said, ‘separate a tag-along?’” He asked, eyebrows furrowed and eyes a little shiny. 

“Well, what’s your nose telling you?” Jo asked, tone trying for light and hoping she didn’t miss by a mile. 

He gasped when Laura appeared around the bend, hands clenched in fist. “Laura?” 

“Hi Derek.” Laura was smiling even with her cheeks wet as she gave a little wave. 

She wasn’t sure which Hale moved first, but the next thing she knew they were clinging to each other as Laura murmured reassurances in his ear as he tucked his nose against his neck.

The afternoon rays of sun was warm against her face through the trees. For the first time since she woke up on that dusty church floor she felt like everything would work out exactly like she needed it too and she couldn’t help but smile.


End file.
